Post card from Schiedam
The city of Schiedam (population 80k, density 4,450 ppkm2) is the western neighbour of Rotterdam. It is one of the oldest cities in Holland, being older than Rotterdam, and it still has its old organic street layout and historical style of buildings, which Rotterdam lost in WWII. Since the 18th century it has been an industrial city, with Dutch Genever gin being its most well-known product: of the more than 24 windmills in Schiedam, some of which were the tallest in the world at that time, 19 were used for grinding ingredients for Dutch Genever gin production. Today only seven of the traditional windmills remain. In the 1920s, ship building and repairing became a major employer, declining in the 1970s and 1980s as a consequence of cheap production costs in other countries. Some of the technicians who were made redundant started their own companies and remained in Schiedam. It was expected by politicians in Schiedam and Rotterdam that the new maritime companies in Schiedam would move to the newly developed industrial port, Maasvlakte II, which was closer to the sea, with more space and deeper berths. Not a single Schiedam port company moved to Maasvlakte II. After a few years, city and port authorities concluded that highly skilled workers preferred to work near the city, close to amenities. Today the port of Schiedam is a maritime hotspot, with an innovative and high-quality entrepreneurial environment for the maritime manufacturing industry and service provision. By the mid 2010s the port companies expressed an interest in intensifying their activities but were reluctant to start discussions with representatives of the residents of the nearby dwellings due to lack of mutual trust. They preferred to leave this to the municipality.
Much of above text comes from report by Bart Heinz – Portus, the online magazine of rete - The maritime DNA of Schiedam offers a promising future for its heritage buildings and old port.
Speaking with past and present residents of Schiedam, there a disappointment with past local politicians. Being an industrial city, the health of its citizens (link 1 & 2) and the city’s heritage have not always been a priority. Part of Schiedam was bombed in the war. The city rebuilt this part of the city with largish modern buildings, and the area today feels like a inactive zone. In the 1970s the council allowed a few property developers to replace some historical buildings with more modern buildings, as it was said to be easier than repurposing the existing buildings. Even though this only affected a small number of buildings, it changed the feel of the city centre. Today many shops are only open half the week.
Link 1 - Bart Heinz - Para 7
Link 2 – 1890s – Reason for Zoning – image Schiedam black Nazareth
Getting to Schiedam is easy: there are many choices. I was staying midway between Rotterdam Central and Schiedam. Travelling by tram either through the linear retail street of Schiedamseweg or Vierambachtstraat, you find both streets are a mix of ground-floor retail and residential. Monday through to Saturday the shops are open. The supporting neighbourhoods have an early twentieth century council housing look and the retail area has a diverse personality.. Moving away from these main streets and you will find more residential mixed with business. These suburbs appear to adapt to change more successfully than Schiedam’s centre.